Forbes recently published a fascinating article about Steve Susman’s thoughts on saving money in litigation. The article reports that Susman has launched a website called "Trial by Agreement" that "provides a sort of 0pen-source repository of pre-trial agreements that lawyers can use to reduce the often needless expense of electronic…
Robert Ambrogi has shared the existence of a fascinating service concerning expert witnesses. The service, called Expert Witness Profiler, checks into the expert’s background, testimonial history, social media profile, and more. Here is what the profile includes: Testimonial history. Challenge (Daubert/Frye) history. Disciplinary history. Licensing and certifications (including verification). Educational…
Insurance Journal reports that the parents of a child born with cystic fibrosis sued various Montana health care providers, saying that had they known of the genetic disorder they would have terminated the pregnancy. Cystic fibrosis causes sticky mucus buildup in the lungs and other organs, leading to infections, digestive…
I have a column that bears the same name as this blog that appears three times per year in the Tennessee Bar Journal. The January 2012 edition of the publication includes the column, this time titled “Retailers Escape Responsibility for Dangerous Foreign-Made Products.” The column addresses one provision of the poorly-named Tennessee…
Paul Luvera has a nice article on his Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips blog that discusses virtual focus groups. He mentions three different services that lawyers can use to test their cases: Virtual Jury.com; Trial Juries, and eJury.com. eJury has a sample case presentation available for review that includes not only a…
Two recent cases from the Alabama Supreme Court hold that a parent may bring a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of a stillborn child that was incapable of life outside the womb. In Hamilton v. Scott, No. 1100192 (Ala. Feb. 17, 2012, Amy Hamilton alleged that several defendants negligently caused the…
State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company, the professional liability insurance company owned by doctors, has once again lowered the cost of insurance paid by Tennessee doctors. Some highlights: The rate revision represents an overall rate decrease of 8.4% at limits of $1,000,000 / $3,000,000. This results in an average per physican…
" Sleep Tight, Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite – The Impact of Bed Bugs on Our Daily and Legal Lives" is the new go-to resource on bed bug litigation. David E. Cassidy and others wrote this article for the Fall 2011 edition of FDCC Quarterly published by the Federation…
Subject to several exceptions, the Tennessee Supreme Court has the right to choose what cases it will hear. A T.R.A.P. Rule 11 petition is filed when one seeks permission to appeal a case to the Tennessee Supreme Court. In the year ending June 30, 2011, 888 Rule 11 petitions were…
What burden should be placed on a party seeking a new trial if the losing party discovers that the winning party engaged in deliberate discovery misconduct? In Duart v. Dep’t of Correction, No. 18476 (Conn. Jan. 24, 2012), the Connecticut Supreme Court said the movant must establish the following: (1) There…